Bryan Zatica, owner of Macro-Z-Technology, a Santa Ana-based general contracting firm, has just finished building two training facilities at Camp Pendleton. Price tag: $1.1 million. In a bleak economy where construction has taken a hit, Zatica's company has been able to stay the course, driven largely by military contracts such as the just-completed Pendleton project.

Bryan Zatica’s Santa Ana general contracting firm has just finished building two training facilities at Camp Pendleton.

Price tag: $1.1 million.

In a bleak economy where construction has taken a hit, Zatica’s company has been able to stay the course, driven largely by military contracts such as the just-completed Pendleton project.

His company, Macro-Z-Technology, is one of three Orange County prime contractors that have picked up a share of the $2.9 billion to be given through fiscal 2010 for construction from the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, which awards all contracts for the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, according to base officials.

In addition, more than $2 billion is pending congressional approval for fiscal years 2011 through 2013, officials said.

Beyond prime contractors, numerous subcontractors based in Orange County also are benefiting from the building boom at the base, bringing the county’s share of the construction contracts to at least $8.9 million with the potential for millions more.

While military construction too has its ups and downs, construction firms tapped into that market have been shielded from the current building decline in Orange County and are riding a development and renovation wave, in some cases prompting them to hire more workers.

In fiscal 2008, construction contracts were awarded for five new barracks, a Marine Logistics Group headquarters, a Marine Special Operations Command complex, a communication electronic facility, a fitness center, a new academic facility and other work, according to Pendleton officials.

Nineteen more barracks are planned this fiscal year and among other new construction projects of more than $880 million are an indoor fitness facility, an infantry training center, a Special Operations Training Group battle course and a communication electronics maintenance facility, base officials said.

Even more new facilities, utility infrastructure improvements, and renovations are being planned for fiscal 2010. If all are approved, Pendleton will construct more than 40 new facilities for approximately $1.5 billion, officials said.

In addition to a new $563 million hospital, Pendleton expects to add approximately 1,000 new homes through fiscal 2013.

“Camp Pendleton is unable to estimate the exact number of jobs or economic impact that these military construction projects will actually entail,” base officials said in an e-mail. “However, considering the scope and duration of the ongoing construction here, it is safe to say that the military construction on Camp Pendleton may employ 5,000-10,000 construction workers in the coming years.”

During this recession, construction has been one of the hardest hit sectors nationwide.

The Construction Industry Research Boardreported in January that Orange County governments issued 47 building permits for houses and townhomes in November, the lowest number for any month in records dating back to 1988. Building permits are a leading indicator of future construction.

The industry shed 15,300 construction jobs in Orange County, down to 79,000 in March as compared with 94,300 in March of last year, according to the Employment Development Department.

Zatica’s medium-sized company, with 140 employees, has been growing steadily each year. A crew of about 15 worked on the Pendleton project from November to March and hired three more people at various times during that period.

“As a mini boom, (construction at military installations) has been going on for a while,” Zatica said. “So while the rest of the private municipalities have fallen off, this work has continued on and it’s been good for us. It’s helped us weather – in today’s environment with shrinking work forces – it’s helped us keep stable or to grow.”

Additionally, Zatica’s company has bid for Pendleton projects that will split $900 million between five contractors for work in the next three to five years. The work has been a boon in an otherwise gloomy economy.

“It’s actually very beneficial not only to the construction industry, but also to the economy,” Zatica said. “It helps build the infrastructure that our society lives on and we need to reinvest back into our economy.”

The Navy does not contract directly with subcontractors, which makes the exact amount of construction spending money coming Orange County’s way tougher to track. So, there potentially could be millions of dollars more that local firms pick up from the current nearly $3 billion pot and future construction funds.

“Easy,” says Zatica, “You’ve got San Diego contractors (but) a lot of subs may be out of Orange County.”

Case in point: Clemens Electric in Yorba Linda, which is installing two traffic lights at the base for more than $700,000 as a prime contractor, but is bringing in an additional $5 million by subcontracting under San Diego firms working with the base.

The 17-employee company has hired three extra workers for its Pendleton projects.

“Looks like we’re going to be busy for the next 1½ year and looks like we’re in an upward swing of growth so they’ll be with us for a while,” said Cynthia Volder, president and CEO of the company her dad founded in 1984, one that has tapped into a niche market of electrical work at military installations in Southern California.

“It’s keeping us on an even keel,” Volder said. We “would be suffering if not for contracts with military installations.”

Since the government owns and maintains its own utilities, companies like her get tapped for jobs on military bases, she said.

Over the years, these firms have become familiar with the job requirements and adept at maneuvering through paperwork associated with government contracts. Past performance is also important in getting the jobs.

“We have a specialized niche,” Volder said. “There’s not a lot of contractors out there that do what we do. That’s why we have managed to weave our way into the construction market in the military.”

The federal stimulus plan provides $7.4 billion to the Department of Defense, largely for projects located at military installations nationwide, details unveiled last month show. The two largest projects to be constructed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be new hospitals at Camp Pendleton and Fort Hood, Texas.